Elder Advocates Of Alberta Society

Jean Warden

Documented Neglect Dismissed by Government Investigation

A provincial investigation into the death of Jean Warden was again dismissed. Assessment by staff of the University Hospital, Edmonton, documented the following:

“malnutrition / dehydration, muscle wasting, decreased albumin levels, anemia, appeared totally emaciated, cachexia, swollen left great toe reddened with necrosis, pressure sores on coccyx and heels, pus oozing from a sore on her ear, pseudomonas infection in her urine.”

On admission to the U of A, she was observed to be in great discomfort. U of A staff stated that they were mandated to make a complaint to the Protection For Persons in Care Act – Section I- Part 6 –

“failing to provide the necessities of life such as food and medical attention.”

According to government officials and the Protection For Person in Care, this is acceptable care. We do not accept this.

Correspondence has been sent to the Honourable Ron Stevens, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, with a strong request for a Fatality Inquiry into the violent death of this elderly Albertan.

Response:

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A Fatality Inquiry has been ordered by the Fatality Review Board. No date has been scheduled.

Update

Detective Trudy Triplett, of the Edmonton Police Service’s elder abuse intervention team, confirmed Thursday that she is opening a criminal investigation into Jean warden’s death of September 23, 2005.

Edmonton police are investigating the death of a malnourished senior at a private nursing home 14 months after a provincial investigation dismissed allegations of neglect and elder abuse.

Rob Warden said that after recently reviewing documents and reports into his elderly mother’s tragic death, he decided he had no choice but to go to the cops. “I felt if we really want this investigated thoroughly and completely, then we should have the city police look at it, because that’s what they do,” Warden, 44, told Sun Media.

Jean Warden, 83, died Sept. 23, 2005, about two weeks after her family, horrified by her physical condition, pulled her out of a nursing home and took her to hospital. Documents that Warden has made public on the Internet at www.jeanwarden.com, say hospital staff found that his mother was malnourished, dehydrated and had several infections, including a gangrenous toe and pus-filled ear.

Warden alleges these fatal conditions arose during the time she spent at Devonshire Care Centre, a long-term care facility on the city’s south side. “Somebody’s got to be held accountable for this,” he said. In March 2006, a provincial investigation into the senior’s death dismissed the family’s allegation that she was neglected, noting there was “insufficient evidence of intentionally failing to provide adequate nutrition, adequate medical attention and other necessities of life.” Warden, who called the report a “sham” when its findings were released, had been reviewing documents in preparation for a five-day fatality inquiry scheduled for June 18, 2007.

Next month’s fatality inquiry has now been postponed pending the completion of the police investigation. Det. Trudy Triplett, of the Edmonton Police Service’s elder abuse intervention team, confirmed Thursday that she is opening a criminal investigation into Jean’s death. There’s no timeline for the probe.